


waiting to love you

by towokuwusatsuwu



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-17 03:36:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14179680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Shiro can balance the reality of being an omega and the paladin of the Black Lion and the official leader of the paladins of Voltron alongside being a war veteran with a healthy dose of PTSD. Having Ulaz around makes things a little easier on him; having an alpha friend willing to be his shoulder to lean on when he needs one is more than he could have ever asked for. Shiro has his demons to fight and Ulaz will be waiting when the dust settles, no matter how long that battle will take.





	1. Chapter 1

It was nearing that time of the month again.

Shiro had done his best to monitor his heats since joining the Garrison, intent on making sure nothing was going to ruin his chances of joining missions out into space and having the chance to discover anything beyond his own planet. Discovery and adventure meant risk, and it meant having to have all of his wits about him at a moment’s notice, reflexes honed like a blade and ready to do whatever need be as soon as possible.

Heats make this difficult. Fatigue is common, and Shiro is not above feeling the pull in his muscles, the encouragement to lie down and rest, to let someone else take care of him for the time being. When he was at the Garrison, suppressants were common and it was simple to get his hands on them when necessary. No one in power looked down on an omega for doing what was needed to make sure everything went off without a hitch, after all. To them, it was no different than training in areas that needed improvement or studying a subject that needed to be looked at a little more closely.

In space, acquiring suppressants that are safe for a human to consume is difficult if not impossible, and Shiro is afraid to touch anything meant for another race. Coran had offered him Altean suppressants when Shiro had to divulge the nature of his biology, but Alteans and humans are not the same, and Shiro has more than enough reason to believe that Altean suppressants would be stronger than his human body knows how to handle.

The Galra had never offered him suppressants. Ulaz had tried his best to make sure that Shiro was quarantined away from the other prisoners during his heats, but he had stepped into the coliseum more than once with his skin aflame and his entire body wanting to slouch off into a quiet corner to rest. He had won those fights, too. Part of him had wanted to ask the Galra soldiers if their own kind could pull off such a feat but he never did.

Even in heat, his sense of self-preservation was simply too high to push his luck that much.

The lack of suppressants means that Shiro needs to monitor himself carefully, and when the day before his heat looms before him, he takes Coran aside to let him know he’s going to be spending the next few days in his own private quarters. Omegas seem to exist across all species of alien that they have encountered so far, which is a blessing, because Shiro is not sure he could explain it to someone who does not know if he had to.

“Have you thought about asking Ulaz if he’s able to mix up something you could use safely?” Coran asks him when Shiro has already turned to head off to his last day of training.

Shiro stills at the question, looks over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Ulaz is a doctor, right? Maybe he knows something about the chemicals used in suppressants. He might know something safe you can take.” Coran shrugs, already turning back to the panels in front of him, eyes scanning the information available to him. “It was just a thought. I’ll let Allura know you’re going to be in your room in the morning.”

The thought is interesting enough that Shiro hunts down Ulaz before he goes to training; the Galra rebel has been on their ship for two weeks, on a mission to accompany them given to him by the Blade of Marmora. For the most part, Shiro doesn’t ask what the details are; he knows Ulaz and he trusts him with his life. Anyone who risks so much to save him is worth trusting in his eyes even if Allura sometimes still has her doubts.

Ulaz can smell him coming before he arrives, his body shifting from the tense and prepared stance he trains in to something more relaxed. “Shiro, your scent would suggest—”

“Tomorrow. I know. I keep track of it.” He wonders briefly if it’s a Galra sense of smell that allows Ulaz to tell so easily, or if it is because he happens to be an alpha. Shiro can never be sure; Lance is the only alpha among the paladins but his senses are still developing. “Coran brought up an interesting point. Do you think you could formulate a suppressant safe enough for me?”

“I don’t see why not. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve cobbled something together for an unusual patient.” Ulaz slants him a look for this, and Shiro chuckles.

He pats Ulaz on the shoulder as he walks past him, ignoring the slight tingle up his arm that alerts him to a virile alpha in the area. When his body is this close to heat, the signals ping off of him stronger than usual. He’s learned to deal. “I don’t need it ready for tomorrow or anything. Just maybe for next month.”

Ulaz clears his throat. “Can I ask you something in return?”

“Of course.” Shiro stops and glances over his shoulder at the hulking Galra, his smile slipping off of his face when he notes just how serious Ulaz appears to be. His brows are furrowed together, his placid expression sharper around the edges. “Is something wrong? You look upset.”

“It would be remiss of me not to make the offer. The Blade of Marmora is by no means a small operation, but we are fewer in number than Zarkon’s forces.” Each word is spoken carefully and with precision, and Shiro gets the odd sensation in the pit of his stomach that Ulaz is working with something scripted, or something he must have been thinking over for a long time, which is unlike him. “We have omegas in our group and very few of us have mates, so we alphas tend to make the offer to omegas in heat that we can accompany them if need be.”

“Accompany…” Shiro trails off, not sure how to take this.

Ulaz meets his eyes dead-on; Shiro can give him credit for that. “In any way you might need accompaniment. Some prefer close contact and to have an alpha’s scent nearby. Some prefer intercourse to handle the urges. It would be up to you, as the omega.”

Shiro had been a prisoner of war. He had been experimented on and tampered with, had a limb removed and replaced against his will, and had been tossed into the coliseum to fight against monsters and warriors with more experience than he could ever hope to have. In such an environment, he had to learn to guard his expression carefully so that no one could glean anything beyond the meaning of his words from his face. Through trial and error, Shiro had taught himself to guard his features more carefully than his words.

It still takes an effort to keep his features smoothed out and relaxed when the weight of Ulaz’s offer settles on his shoulders. “You’re offering to play my alpha if I want you to?”

“If we were not as close, I wouldn’t do any such thing. But I know you, and I trust you.” Ulaz rolls his shoulders, the gesture inhumanly graceful, muscle shifting beneath soft lavender fur. “And I know that, to an extent, you trust me. So I thought I should make the offer.”

Shiro hesitates. Through most of his life, he had dealt with his heats on his own; having an alpha didn’t have to mean anything, and a casual sex partner meant little to nothing to him. There had been betas in the past, but alphas were different and the thought of being knotted always made him more than a little anxious no matter how many times he had been reassured that an omega’s body was built for such a thing. The idea of being tied to someone for any length of time, much less an hour or  _ longer, _ was out of the question.

Or, at least, it had been with others in the past. There had never been anyone in Shiro’s life quite like Ulaz, in that respect. No one who had put so much on the line to save his life, who had risked himself and his organization in the process. Shiro would be eternally grateful because his life otherwise would have led to death in the coliseum when his body grew too battered and broken to keep up with experienced war heroes and deadly monsters.

Ulaz is different. Maybe part of the draw is that he isn’t human, and Shiro has no idea what Galra alphas are like in comparison. Maybe part of the draw is that Ulaz had been around him more than a few times when he was in heat and had been unaffected, which makes Shiro think he has little reason to be afraid of having Ulaz in the room with him this time.

“Do Galra alphas smell different than humans?” Shiro asks. Easier to dodge the obvious question for now when his mind is still swirling with possibilities.

“Matt informed me that we did. You can see for yourself.” Ulaz extends an arm to him, raising one purple brow at him as an amused little smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “I don’t bite.”

The playful joking tone relaxes Shiro somewhat and he closes the distance between the two of them, bypassing Ulaz’s wrist for an up close and personal scenting. The two of them should be close enough as friends that this isn’t weird, right? Besides, Shiro needs answers, and wrist scents are like a preview more than they are the main feature.

Still, the height difference between them is substantial and Ulaz has to lean down so Shiro can press his face against his throat, find the scent gland there and—  _ Whoa. _ It rocks him to his core and his knees weaken just slightly beneath him, and would have crumpled if Shiro did not absolutely refuse to let it happen. Still, he presses his nose a little more firmly into Ulaz’s throat and inhales, biting down on his tongue to stop the small whine from escaping his mouth.

No human alpha has ever smelled like this to him before, this potent and heady. Shiro wants to wrap himself in this scent and never have to leave it. “Y-you do smell different after all.”

“Your breathing has changed.” A large hand lands on top of his head, clawed fingers sifting gently through his hair without so much as pricking his scalp. Ulaz is always so careful of him. “I can promise you that it will be more intense when your heat fully hits. And I can promise that I will only do what you ask me to do. Nothing more than that, Shiro.”

Which means he would be fine with lying in bed next to Shiro, providing warmth and that delicious scent without pressuring Shiro into thinking he has to give him more than he’s ready to. “You sure about that? Being a body warmer doesn’t seem like a glamorous attraction.”

“Maybe you were simply brought up to not view it as such. I was. Assisting a friend should be more than enough for anyone, shouldn’t it?” Ulaz takes a step back and Shiro inhales the air between them, clearing his head somewhat. “And we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Of course. That’s not even a question.” Shiro scrubs a hand over his face, forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths to clear out his nose and throat. “I’ve never been with an alpha during a heat cycle before. I don’t think our situation is the place to start that. But if you’re willing to keep me warm and smell good, I guess, then I wouldn’t mind having you there.”

Ulaz chuckles at him. “Scent can help calm your heat. Scientifically speaking, your body works harder to produce the scent to attract an alpha. If there is already an alpha with you, your body doesn’t have to work as hard. That’s why I offered.”

“That makes sense.” Shiro makes his voice steady and calm, trying to look collected. “I would be grateful if you’d spend my heat with me, Ulaz. But only if you want to.”

“I do. I wouldn’t have offered if I considered it a chore.” Ulaz pats him on the shoulder. “Tomorrow morning, I will come to your quarters. We can figure out the particulars from there.”

Shiro nods and heads off to start his own training. Whatever higher power is out there must be looking out for him to deliver him an alpha who would not only free him from the Galra but who would offer to help him out during what can be a troublesome time of the month. With his body working less hard, he might be able to leap out of bed to pilot Voltron at a moment’s notice. Truly, it would work out better for everyone if Shiro was not indisposed.

There just might be more benefits to this than he thinks there is. Well, it can’t hurt to try, and he knows better than to think Ulaz would ever hurt him.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of Team Voltron gives Ulaz a wide berth when he wakes up, quickly makes himself presentable, and starts on the way to Shiro’s private quarters. No doubt that word had quickly spread that Ulaz would be spending the duration of Shiro’s heat with him; the way that Lance cackles on his way past speaks of what they must have in mind. The thought makes Ulaz sigh and shake his head; children are very impressionable after all and he can only imagine that trying to explain otherwise to them would only make things all the more difficult. Best to simply get to Shiro’s side and allow the lack of any marks afterward tell the story.

The offer had been made in good faith; Shiro is not the first omega Ulaz has spent a heat with before for this specific purpose. The Blade of Marmora is already spread thinly and so they had been there for each other to make their mission more bearable when their biology decided to remind them of where they stood. Making this offer to Shiro was no different than making this offer to his fellow Galra and other rebel fighters over the years.

Few of them had suffered as much as Shiro had suffered under Sendark’s orders. Ulaz had seen all of it, of course, and the thought has his teeth grinding together before he reminds himself to remain calm because any sharp change in his scent is likely to set Shiro on edge. The last thing he wants to do is upset Shiro; this is for his benefit, after all.

He had sacrificed more than many of the soldiers Ulaz knew, and fighting as a member of Voltron, much less as the leader and the black paladin, took a higher toll on him than the others might have realized. It was not their fault. Out of this team, only Coran was an adult on the same level as Shiro, the rest of them teenagers still growing up and finding their way in the world. It was unlikely they had fully realized just how much Shiro had given up so far in this war.

In contrast, Ulaz does. He knows that Shiro has already given so much, and that he has to deal with this part of his biology alone seems unfair. Coran is only a beta as far as Ulaz can tell, and he doubts that Shiro would want any of the younger team members around him at a time like this. Luckily, Ulaz is here. The Blade of Marmora had supported having at least one of their members with Voltron at all times as further security.

This might not be considered part of his duties, but as far as he is concerned, it might as well be.

He pauses outside of Shiro’s door, rapping his knuckles on the metal surface lightly so as not to disturb Shiro too much. “Shiro, I am here now. Please let me in.”

He hears shuffling on the other side of the door before it parts, allowing him entrance into the room that Shiro has to himself. Altean rooms are equipped with scent filtering so that no omegas who enter into a heat are likely to fill entire rooms with their scent, but even with that, Shiro’s scent in this room is stronger than Ulaz has seen in any part of the ship so far.

His eyes dart from one corner of the room to another as Shiro closes the door behind him, taking in every detail. The room is minimalist and Shiro seems to have left it that way except for the bed, a current mound of pillows and blankets that look almost messy to the untrained eye. Ulaz is not untrained, unable to pick out the way Shiro has arranged the bedding. Omegas tend to nest the closer they get to their heats, needing the warmth and the security prior to their bodies entering a state of vulnerability.

Shiro leans heavily against the wall beside the door in nothing but a pair of underwear, his skin flushed a soft pink. When Ulaz meets his eyes, Shiro smiles tiredly. “Hey,” he says, muffling a yawn against the palm of one hand. “Sorry for making you wait. Hard to get out of bed.”

“Understandable. Come here.” Ulaz holds out his arms, watches Shiro think about this for a moment before he pushes himself off of the wall and steps into Ulaz’s waiting arms. It’s more of a stumble than anything else and he falls against Ulaz’s chest heavily, nuzzling into the fabric of his shirt with a soft sigh. “You’re already quite exhausted. Are you well?”

“Yeah. I always end up tired at first. Just a quirk, I guess.” Shiro fists a hand in Ulaz’s shirt and clings a little, looking up at him with half-closed eyes. “Bed? I wanna lay back down.”

“Of course you do.” Ulaz brushes Shiro’s hair back out of his eyes, internally wondering just why he feels so indulgent where this human is concerned. “I’ll carry you.”

Galra have a size advantage over humans for the most part, and Ulaz is no different; Shiro only comes up to his shoulders and the strength different is obvious when he easily sweeps Shiro off of his feet and carries him toward the bed. A light control by the bed catches his eye; he lays Shiro down in his nest, letting him adjust his position to his liking while Ulaz dims the lighting to something softer and warmer and easier on the eyes. The moment he finishes, Shiro’s hand catches the bottom of his shirt and tugs.

“Lay down with me,” he says, his voice throaty and soft.

The bed is just large enough to fit Ulaz comfortably; he lets his body half-curl so that Shiro can huddle in against him, face pressed against his throat, warm breath curling against his skin through the layer of his fur. He settles his hands on Shiro’s bare back, feeling the muscles there rise and fall with each slow, even breath. This close, the warmth of Shiro’s bare skin and the sweet scent of an omega in heat are impossible to ignore especially when Shiro makes an impatient noise and fists a hand in Ulaz’s shirt, pulling at the fabric.

“Don’t like this,” he informs him, and Ulaz raises an eyebrow at him. “Take it off. I don’t like the way it smells right now.”

“You have to let me go in order for me to do that,” Ulaz reminds him.

The expression Shiro gives him makes him smile, an equal amount of annoyed and aggravated before he leans back and gives Ulaz just enough time to pull his shirt off over his head before he immediately presses himself as close to Ulaz as he can. The contrast between his smooth human skin scarred here and there against Ulaz’s fur is a pleasant one and from the way Shiro sighs and almost sinks into him, he must think the same.

“Have you eaten this morning?” Ulaz asks him, combing his fingers through his hair.

Shiro sighs up at him. “Yeah, I ate breakfast before I built my nest. Told myself I wasn’t going to build it until I finished eating because otherwise I’d skip breakfast entirely.”

“Smart choice. I’ll make sure you eat twice more before it goes too late. You’re not going to handle this well if your body doesn’t have the proper nutrients.” Ulaz keeps up the slow, lulling motion of running his fingers through Shiro’s hair, the contrast between the white and black strands intriguing him. “How do you feel other than tired and probably hot and sore?”

“That kind of sums it up right there. I don’t think I have anything to add right now.” Shiro yawns against his throat and snuggles up impossibly closer, his arms twining tight around Ulaz’s back and holding onto him firmly. “Not as tired and sore as I expected to be.”

Ulaz breathes a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Hopefully, you can rest better now with me here.”

“That was the plan, right? You smell a lot better than you did yesterday.” Shiro’s nose presses into his fur before he inhales and the little noise he makes in response makes the fur on the back of Ulaz’s neck prickle. “And I mean a  _ lot _ better. I guess that’s just the heat talking.”

“I told you there would be a difference.” Ulaz rests his chin on top of Shiro’s head, shifts his hand down to Shiro’s back to knead the tension out of his muscles. He reminds himself that Shiro is in heat, because otherwise he doubts Shiro would whimper softly and press up into his hand like this. “Hopefully, the difference will allow your body to calm down. You won’t have to produce as much of a scent with me here with you. I’m sure your body has already realized you have an alpha nearby who is not going to leave your side.”

Shiro arches into his hand more and Ulaz has to be careful not to accidentally scratch his back with the sudden, uneven movements. “It’s a nice change of pace, actually.”

The thought that Shiro must not have had an alpha back home has occurred to Ulaz several times over the last sixteen or so hours after he and Shiro had talked yesterday. He had pushed the thought from his mind each and every time because it bore no looking into; there was nothing more Ulaz needed to know other than Shiro was willing to have Ulaz stay with him during his heat. But the comment he had just made confirmed what Ulaz had been thinking; there must not have been an alpha out there somewhere in the universe waiting for Shiro to come back home. As for why this matters to him, he has no idea.

The Blade of Marmora had always been firm about not pursuing mates with the weight of their mission resting on their shoulders. Allowing themselves to have weaknesses that could be used against them was heavily discouraged, and they had to be willing to abandon individuals if it meant protecting their overall mission. Ulaz had never thought about having a mate before. It simply did not occur to him that such a prospect could exist, not in this world.

And why he is thinking about is at all is beyond him. He presses his nose into Shiro’s hair and, letting his curiosity get the better of him, inhales the soft sweet scent of an omega in heat. Humans smell different than Galra, he had realized that as soon as he walked into the room, but there was nothing less tempting or less desirable in Shiro’s scent just the same.

“Do I smell good?” Shiro asks him, voice so low Ulaz almost doesn’t hear him.

“You do, but you should already know that. Omegas in heat are supposed to smell good.” From a medical point of view, it makes sense. Heat is supposed to draw alphas in, so omegas always smell their best when their heat rolls around. “I was thinking you don’t smell the same as Galra omegas do, but I suppose that makes sense because you’re human.”

Shiro tilts his head back to look up at him and even though the flush in his cheeks is high and his eyes are soft and hazy, half-closed from fatigue, Ulaz can see a familiar interest there. “Do all alien species smell different, then? Human noses aren’t equipped to notice the nuance, I don’t think. At least I’ve never noticed it myself.”

“You’re the only human omega I’ve spent an extended period of time with, but I feel I can safely say I don’t think humans are able to notice the difference, either.” Ulaz doesn’t like to talk about the past, but the fact of the matter is that they do share a past with one another and pretending it never happened will not make it nonexistent. “Yes, I’ve noticed a marked difference.”

“Well, I might not be able to tell all the differences, but you smell better than any other alpha ever has before.” Shiro presses his face hard against Ulaz’s throat, as if he’s trying to make a point instead of mildly choking him.

This close, held tight and safe in his nest, it is unsurprising when Shiro falls asleep not long after their conversation ends. His breathing evens out and Ulaz watches the slow rise and fall of his side with each breath, soothes his muscles as he sleeps. He needs as much rest as he can get, because the first day is only ever a preview of what is to come. When the time comes for lunch, Ulaz will have food brought to the room, rouse him from sleep, and make sure he eats.

Ulaz has done this before for other omegas. Taking care of an omega is not a particularly difficult task. Though plenty of alphas have acted as though keeping their instincts and impulses in check is impossible, Ulaz is not a fool and he is confident in his ability to make these few days as comfortable and peaceful as possible for Shiro without making it difficult or awkward for him.

That Ulaz is thinking these thoughts at all about someone he never expected to think about in such a way is besides the point. Shiro needs him, and Ulaz will be here for him.

Nothing more.


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro sleeps through a portion of the early morning, his body working itself into overdrive before the fatigue gets to him and seeps into his muscles and bones, pulling him down into the soft, comforting scent of his bedding and Ulaz’s soft, warm fur. Though he had his initial doubts about this working out between the two of them, just a result of having doubts in general, when he wakes up from his first nap, he feels better than usual. Less drained, less exhausted, less like his body is being barely held together by that soft, nagging need for sex.

That, he pushes firmly to the back of his mind and ignores. There are no interested alphas on this ship and even if there were, Shiro would probably turn them down because he’s afraid to find out just how much the Galra’s torture affected him. Omegas are known to be vulnerable in heat, more vulnerable still while in the act of sex, and though Shiro does not prescribe to outdated views on anything, he does not want to take a chance with this.

Being emotionally vulnerable is not necessarily a weakness in and of itself, and he knows that, but the anxiety and stress that pulls at his mind even in quiet moments is not something that he wants to tamper with. He has to be ready to fight at a moment’s notice, and this is not something he can do if he lets his fear choke him until he can hardly breathe, much less think far enough to form Voltron and fight. The Black Lion would likely have his back if it came right down to it, but Shiro knows better than to push himself to the very limits. Picking up the pieces he might leave behind should not be the responsibility of the rest of the team.

All four of them are capable, but all four of them are also children weighing their own risks and looking death in the face every time they step on the battlefield together. They’re growing and discovering themselves and the last thing Shiro is going to do is put more on them than they can feasibly handle. This aspect of himself belongs to him, and he can manage it even when he feels fuzzy around the edges, not quite solid, anchored more by the arms around him than by any physical sensations of his own.

“Shiro?” Ulaz leans back to look at him when Shiro leans back to yawn, muffling the sound against the palm of his hand. “So you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Not as groggy as usual. I guess that theory of yours turned out to be fact after all.” Shiro smiles at him, pushing himself to sit up even though he wants to curl back up in his nest, not to sleep but just to let himself be. “I’m kind of getting hungry, to be honest.”

Ulaz sits up beside him, and Shiro is reminded that the size difference between human and Galra is far more pronounced than it seems at first sight. Broad-shouldered and tall all the way through, Ulaz even sits taller than he does in the bed. Tall enough that he could rest his chin on top of Shiro’s comfortably without having to stretch his neck, and Shiro shakes his head at himself for that thought. Being in heat really does a number on his head.

One soft hand cradles the side of his face, no doubt checking the temperature of his skin while those familiar golden eyes study his face. “You’ve been in heat for at least twelve hours, so this is logical. I’ll contact Coran to have food sent up here for you.”

Though he wants to curl up in his nest once more, Shiro only leans against the headboard and focuses on keeping himself upright, his stomach gurgling softly to encourage him to remain awake long enough to eat. Though he needs to eat regularly, especially when heat takes a lot of energy out of him, it’s hard to make himself do it. There had been jokes back on earth that omegas only kept alphas around for the good heat sex and because alphas in rut are still fully capable of crawling out of bed to fetch food for their omega partner.

The thought makes the corner of Shiro’s lips twitch up in a slight smile. “So, are there Galra customs when it comes to alphas and omegas? Certain traits associated with them?”

“Not particularly beyond the sexual characteristics. Well, omegas are known to have slightly longer fur, I do believe, but that doesn’t hold true for every Galra omega I’ve ever met. From what I understand, it’s just to help the cubs stay warm until they grow in their own fur.” Ulaz looks thoughtful, rubbing his chin with one large hand, and Shiro watches the movement, slightly dazed by it, before giving himself another shake. “Other than that, I’m not sure I could name anything off the top of my head. Why? Curious as to the differences in our kind?”

Shiro shrugs, stretching a hand back to soothe the slightly sore muscles in his neck. He needs to lie in a more natural position than clinging to Ulaz as tightly as his body will allow. “I was just thinking about some old jokes I heard back on earth. I don’t think there are that many differences in human alphas and omegas, but most of humanity used to think there were.”

“Are they physically perceptible? I could tell the differences among your crew by scent alone, but by sight there is little to no difference to me.” Ulaz rolls his shoulders, and Shiro watches the muscles move beneath his fur and skin, the motion subtly different to when Shiro has seen humans do the same, making it all the more fascinating.

His mouth feels oddly dry, but he has bottles of water on the nightstand next to his bed and reaches for one, cracking the seal and draining half of the bottle in one long gulp. Logically, his reactions to Ulaz are different than usual, not just the build-up of hormones but the natural instinct that omegas seek out alphas. Not all omegas prefer alphas, of course, and Shiro had done his best to not favor anyone no matter what they were, but his body has a single goal in mind and Ulaz happens to fit that goal perfectly.

“I don’t think so,” he finally tells Ulaz. “I mean, that’s me personally. But I don’t think you can tell by sight alone. Maybe not even by scent.”

Ulaz hums, rising to his feet a moment before the intercom by the door dings to life. “You might be right about that, Shiro, and my sense of smell is far greater than yours.”

Coran passes Ulaz food and quickly walks away, no doubt intent on giving them their privacy for which Shiro is grateful. Heat is a normal part of his life and he would never encourage people to be ashamed about a natural cycle in their life, but that doesn’t mean he wants to host visits to his room for the time being. He wants some privacy so he can relax and let his body do what it has to do without having to worry about being properly nice when he’s too tired to think.

Shiro reaches for the food but Ulaz swats his hands away gently. “What? I can feed myself.”

“Your hands are shaking ever so slightly because you’re tired and you want to lay back down.” Ulaz sits down in front of him, raising one furry brow. “Unless you want to argue with me.”

In response, Shiro huffs at him. “Alphas are so bossy.”

“I’m only being bossy because I care more about you eating than I do about you accidentally wearing your food.” Ulaz offers him a spoonful of food, and though he tries to keep his face straight, Shiro can see the slightest of a smile at the corner of his lips. “Shiro? Please?”

The please is what breaks him and Shiro supposes there might be a silver lining to all of this, because becoming a paladin of Voltron left him precious little time to relax for any length of time. A brief breather would soon be followed by more combat, another planet to save and more people to free from the control of Zarkon. Maybe he should appreciate what little pampering he gets especially when he knows it’s coming from someone who means well and not someone who is trying to demean him in any way.

His first bite of food is like water in an oasis and he can’t help the soft moan trapped in his throat, one that slips through his lips just a little. Ulaz’s shoulders twitch at the sound, his eyes widening just enough for Shiro to notice, but he doesn’t say anything about it. Being in close to proximity to an omega in heat must be affecting him in small increments, too.

By the time Ulaz finishes feeding him, though, Shiro is aware of a wetness starting between his thighs threatening to soak through his underwear. Sighing, he thumps his head back against the headboard, squeezing his eyes shut at the sensation. This is perhaps the most unattractive part of being in heat; the copious amounts of lubrication his body produces to make sex as easy as possible. Of course, not having sex doesn’t stop the lubrication produced. Not having sex might decrease the amount his body creates as he knows it makes more on demand, but the wetness is still there and it’s still uncomfortable for him.

“I need to shower,” he says, slipping off of the edge of the bed, fighting the urge to pull his underwear off before it has a chance to start clinging wet to him like a second skin. “And get changed into cleaner clothes.”

Ulaz cocks his head at him. “I imagine it must be the discomfort of the lubrication. Shower, but be careful not to over-exert yourself just in case. You might have slept for a decent amount of time, but even I can tell you are still exhausted, Shiro.”

Shiro tries to ignore the way his cheeks feel warm at Ulaz’s words. “I’ll be careful, don’t worry about me. Also while I’m gone, if you don’t mind, don’t disturb my nest. I’ve got it arranged just the way I like it to be arranged. You can lay in it, though.”

“Rest assured that I understand the importance of a nest for an omega and I will not rearrange anything to my liking.” Ulaz catches Shiro by the elbow when he wavers on his feet, helping him to the bathroom doorway. “Now, shower so you can return to bed.”

For just a moment, Shiro leans against Ulaz’s side and, without even thinking about it, inhales deeply. Ulaz smells better with him in heat, or rather the receptors in his brain are interpreting the nuance of Ulaz’s scent in more pleasing ways, but there is no mistaking the sharp change, the depth of it and the spice. Likely, Ulaz is not intending it, but his body is responding to Shiro’s hormones and this knowledge hurries Shiro on to the bathroom.

He leans against the door for a moment after he closes it behind him, telling himself to take deep breaths and get a hold of himself. Ulaz had offered to do this for him knowing that it was going to be a strange experience for both of them, or at least with Shiro; Ulaz has done this for other omegas in the past. Still, something about this situation has thrown him off; Shiro can read it in his movements. Not that Shiro can blame him; this is strange and new for him, too.

Shiro pats himself on the face, takes a deep breath, and walks with purpose toward the shower. Clean up, go back to his nest, and rest.

The two of them can do this. He’s sure of it.


End file.
